minimum or max Thiele/Small parameters

[AstroSonic]

Yes. Well i guess there is no rule of thumb when choosing a practical speaker for bass cabs. Because sometimes we dont have the budget to buy a good speaker, but if i want to buy a super cheap one, i want to know if its practical/usable for a bass cab use.

As you have heard, there are no rules of thumb. Further, to get the most performance out of the least expenditure is quite challenging. If you have a particular case in mind, just advise us of the available amplifier power, the internal volume of the speaker chamber (and the dimensions of any bass ports), as well as the type(s) of music you play and the size of the space you typically play in, your budget and where you are located. Also, do you have basic woodworking skills and equipment (or access to them)? In addition, you will likely learn a lot from a discussion of a specific case.

 

[leosep]

Hi, thank you all for the responses. I'm asking because i have this driver from mcm Invalid Link Removed and this one Invalid Link Removed, so we are planing to play in a small cafe and i dont really want to bring my 4x10, its too big. So i have some mdf, im using WinISD to calculate the size. But im not sure if it worth a try building one for this driver.

 

[AstroSonic]

Hi, thank you all for the responses. I'm asking because i have this driver from mcm Invalid Link Removed and this one Invalid Link Removed, so we are planing to play in a small cafe and i dont really want to bring my 4x10, its too big. So i have some mdf, im using WinISD to calculate the size. But im not sure if it worth a try building one for this driver.

You should be able to get usable results with those drivers. There is a problem: the low cost drivers from that vendor often have TS parameters substantially different (not as favorable) as the published specs. Typically, the Qts, and Fs will be 30-50% high, while the sensitivity will be 3-5 db below spec. The impact of these differences on performance will be a less extended bass, strongly peaked upper bass, and less volume for a given power input. Significant spec deviations have a greater impact on ported designs than on sealed designs. That 10 inch (designed for ported use) is usable, but you should have the TS parameters checked/measured before designing. It's probably safest to use the 12 inch in a sealed cab of 1.5 - 2 cf, with 3 sides lined with dacron (or equivalent). Some players here have reported good results with drivers from MCM, though usually the mid and higher cost drivers. Give them a try. The 10 inch may tern out to be a decent sealed box driver. Try it in 1 cf sealed.

In general, you are going to get reliable 10 & 12 inch drivers with reasonably accurate (usable) TS parameters (so you know what you are buying) starting at about $50. Examples of good low cost drivers include the Faital 10FE200 and Eminence Beta 12A. The Dayton PA series drivers also perform well for the money.

 

[leosep]

Thanks everyone, ill start reading the The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook to have a better understanding of this.

 

[Arjank]

The Dayton PA series drivers also perform well for the money.

+1

Last year I advised one talkbass member to replace the 8" drivers of his SWR henry8x8 with the Dayton PA200-8, he was more then surprised by the improvement over the stock drivers.
http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-pa200-8-8-pro-woofer-speaker--295-025 check the review of "spego".

 

[dawind99]

Yes. Well i guess there is no rule of thumb when choosing a practical speaker for bass cabs. Because sometimes we dont have the budget to buy a good speaker, but if i want to buy a super cheap one, i want to know if its practical/usable for a bass cab use.

From the thread it looks like you have limited funds, limited knowledge of cabinet design but the will to try and make something that will work as a bass cab for you. You can do that. The speaker handbook either the original Radio Shack or the PExpress would be good to take a look at. Regarding drivers; you can use anything you can get your hands on out of a car, the dump, old speaker cabinets and make them work. 8 6" car drivers will move some air in the right cabinet. It may not kill, but it might work just fine for you right now. Do learn about impedance and wiring in series, parallel, and series parallel. Porting is important but general parameters are easy to figure out. Back in the day when I couldn't afford a decent cab I used just about everything I could scavenge and made some decent sounding cabs, learned a lot, and honed my skills. Get out there and scavenge up some drivers, get a sheet of plywood or scab some from the dump and have some fun. Please keep an eye on your fingers and be careful if you are not comfortable on power tools. If you're not comfortable and familiar with safe use of a table saw use a circular saw or jig saw with a guide. Whatever you end up with will be your creation and worth the effort. Good luck. If you have any questions feel free to PM or call me.